Back to you
by Miss92
Summary: James Potter developed a crush on Lily Evans in fifth year. Yet they didn't date until seventh. This is my take on what happened in their fifth, sixth and seventh year.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: All credit goes to J.K. Rowling. I used one of her scenes from Deathly Hallows in this chapter. I hope you won't mind that I did this. I felt it was the right scene to fill up the space. I hope you will like this one. This story will be a three-shot. And I really liked writing this first one, so… I hope you'll enjoy reading it. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think! They are greatly appreciated!

Summery: James Potter developed a crush on Lily Evans in fifth year. Yet they didn't date until seventh. This is my take on what happened in their fifth, sixth and seventh year.

**Back to you**

_1976_

Two days and thirteen hours. That's how long the fight that shook up all of Hogwarts lasted already and she would know, because Alice Prewitt made sure she didn't forget about it.

"It's been two days, thirteen hours and twenty-four minutes since they last spoke, or more like, yelled at each other," Alice said, still sounding as disbelieving as she had when she first found out – fifty-four minutes after the public fall-out – about James Potter and Sirius Black's fight. And to be honest, Lily couldn't blame her friend. The day that James Potter and Sirius Black fought would be the day that the sky turned yellow.

However, the sky hadn't turned yellow. Or, at least, no one could really see if it had, because it had been raining the past three days. If she were Alice and used Alice's logic this would mean that the sky had indeed turned yellow and it was hiding now, because the sky was too ashamed to show its true colours now. And really, this seemed more likely than the fact that James Potter and Sirius Black would continue their fight for another minute.

But the minute had passed and the boys were still fighting. James Potter sat at the front of the classroom – another big shocker here – together with Peter Pettigrew, while Sirius Black sat at the back of the classroom with a thundercloud hanging over his head.

"What do you think it's about?" Alice asked and Lily looked away from Sirius Black's angry form. "It has to be something mayor, because they wouldn't fight over something small."

Lily rolled her eyes and turned to her friend. "Alice, they're boys and that means they're not as mature as we are," she whispered. "Yes, we are in fifth year and we act like fifth years, but James Potter and Sirius Black are in fifth year and act as though they haven't even entered primary school yet. So, that means they're probably fighting over some sort of toy."

Now it was Alice's turn to roll her eyes. "That's absolutely ridiculous and you know it," the girl whispered back, "Sirius and James are twice as tight as you and Severus are. They wouldn't fight over something irrelevant."

"All right," Lily admitted as she attempted to get her fringe from falling into her eyes, "if it's not about something irrelevant I bet it's about a girl. You know how they are!"

Alice thought about this for a while and Lily was happy to have found some time to actually listen to Slughorn's lecture. The man was going on and on about the uses of bubotuber.

"As you all must know, bubotuber will help you get through the awkward time that makes up puberty," Slughorn said and he smiled sympathetically at Melina Burbage, "it will even cure your terrible acne, Melina. Just stop by my office this afternoon."

For a moment everyone was silent, even Slughorn was. Because normally a comment like this one from the professor's lips would evoke a roar of laughter from two boys in the classroom. Today, however, due to their fight, no one started roaring with laughter and no one else in the classroom dared to, because the tension in the air was too thick.

Professor Slughorn started his lecture again, sounding a bit off and staring at James Potter and Sirius Black for a few seconds before he found his enthusiasm again.

"I've thought about it," Alice then whispered and Lily turned her head towards her friend, "and there is some rumour going around about James Potter fancying someone and Sirius Black is, apparently, teasing him about it, because he thinks the girl James fancies is absolutely ridiculous."

Lily nodded. "Well, there it is," she said, glad that Alice would, most likely, stop talking about the cause of the fight between Black and Potter, "now, you can sleep at night!"

Lily scribbled a few notes down and then the bell rang, indicating that class was over.

Alice sighed heavily. "Two days, thirteen hours and thirty-six minutes."

Lily rolled her eyes.

* * *

The fight was still on. Four days, five hours and twenty-two minutes after it started both Sirius Black and James Potter still ignored one another. And to be quite honest, Lily could not stop thinking about it.

Gryffindor had just won a Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. James Potter had played well; his shots had gone through the hoops with incredible force. According to Alice – the mind-reader she claims she is – James Potter was thinking about hitting Sirius Black's head with the Quaffle each time he threw it through another hoop.

She walked on the grass, leading to Hogwarts, as she heard someone jogging up to her. She felt a smile appear on her lips as she turned her head slightly and found her best friend in the world now walking beside her. Her friend, wearing his arm in a sling, smiled back at her.

"I was wondering when you would catch up," she said as she bumped shoulders with him, "you're always the first to tell me that Potter was showing off once again and that we did not deserve to win, just because Potter doesn't deserve to gloat!" She chuckled and so did her friend.

"His game was a bit off, though," Severus said, his grin growing wider, "he even injured one of his own chasers, how stupid can he be?"

Lily shrugged. "According to Alice, who completely believes in her mind-reading abilities, it all comes down to his fight with Black," she said and then rolled her eyes. "I can't believe that's still on. It can't be that bad."

"It is," Severus then said and Lily turned her head towards him, examining his face. A blush appeared on Severus' cheeks. "I mean… even Potter and Black wouldn't fight about something stupid, right?"

Lily stopped in her tracks and stared at her friend, trying to find something in his face that would tell her the truth. "Sev?" she asked. "What do you know?" His eyes turned slightly darker at her words and he seemed a bit uncomfortable. "Does this have anything to do with the sling you have been carrying around your arm?"

Sev's eyes widened. "No!" he cried out and then he calmed down a bit. "I told you about that. I tripped and fell down the stairs. Why would you even think this has something to do with it?"

"Because you're being vague," she said and then narrowed her eyes, "and because you say things like 'it is bad'. It's as if you know something that you're not telling me and you always tell me everything, Sev!"

"Yes," he said, "I tell you everything. I always do. Can we please shut up about Potter and Black?" He then asked.

Lily nodded. "All right," she said and then flashed him a grin, "so, you ready to get beaten by us next month? Because there is no way Gryffindor will not beat you!"

They started walking again, Severus hesitating for only a fraction of a second.

* * *

The party was in full swing. Gryffindors were dancing on the table and on the couch, laughing loudly and drinking one Butterbeer after another. They were clearly enjoying themselves, every single one of them, except for James Potter.

Lily was observing him as he leaned against the wall next to the portrait hole. He was sporting a dark expression and seemed to not even notice that Bella Rosings, a beautiful sixth year, was trying to flirt with him. This was very odd, because James Potter never let go on an opportunity to snog.

She grabbed another Butterbeer from the table and, instead of drinking it herself, she walked towards James Potter. Bella Rosings sent her a dirty look as James Potter seemed to straighten himself a bit once he noticed she was walking towards him, Butterbeer in hand.

"You seem like you need it," she said as she handed him the Butterbeer.

Potter smiled faintly and murmured a small 'thank you' in her direction as he took a sip from the warm liquid. He swallowed it and then looked at the opposite wall again in concentration, seemingly counting each and every single that it was made of.

"So," she said as she leaned against the wall, her shoulder touching his, "what's got you in such a foul mood? You scored twenty-five times this game."

James Potter huffed. "I bet you already know what has me in such a foul mood, Evans."

She turned her head and looked at James' face. His eyes stood incredibly sad and she sighed heavily. "Listen, Potter," she said, "Severus and I get into fights as well and sometimes I just want to keep on hating them, but there is a time to forgive and forget."

Potter had turned his head sharply towards hers, their noses were almost touching and his eyes seemed as if they were on fire. "Did he tell you?" he asked forcefully.

For a moment, Lily was taken aback and then she sputtered: "Who told what to me?"

Potter turned his whole body towards hers now and he grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the portrait hole before she could even protest. He then let her go and asked her the same question again: "Did he tell you?" he asked. "Did Snape tell you why Sirius and I are fighting?"

Her eyes widened. "So, Sev does know?" she asked and she then stomped her foot. "I can't believe him! He told me he didn't know!" She looked at Potter and then asked him: "Does his arm have anything to do with it? Did you bully him again?" Her eyes narrowed. "Merlin, Potter! How many times do I have to tell you, you should leave him alone?"

Potter then let out a frustrated groan. "Why do you always think it's me? Maybe this time I actually did the right thing!"

"Well, did you?" Lily asked and she was surprised when she saw the look in James Potter's eyes.

"Your best friend and my former best friend got into a fight and my former best friend decided it would be funny to send your best friend down the tunnel by the Whomping Willow." He told her. "Then _I_ had to come to the rescue and save your best friend from… whatever is down that tunnel!"

She was speechless. For once in her life she didn't know what to say. She didn't have a witty reply in store for James Potter. She could merely look at him and notice the sincerity in his eyes.

"So," he said and he crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm in a more than foul mood, because my best friend turned out to be this evil piece of scum."

Lily then seemed to wake up. "Potter," she said, "I agree with you that Black did something really stupid and really bad, but you can't just… decide that that's the end of your friendship."

Potter's eyes widened at this. "I can't? Are you serious?" His arms were in his hair now, messing it up even more than it was before. "He betrayed our friendship and everything it stands for!"

"So?" Lily said and she shrugged. "People make mistakes and Black made a bad one. But you're making a very big mistake when you ruin your friendship over something like that as well."

Potter was silent and stared at his feet for a while before he looked up, locking his eyes with hers. "You say I can forgive him for something like this?"

She nodded and bit her lip. "I think you can," she said softly and then sent him a small smile.

James Potter then broke into a smile as well and for a few moments they were just smiling at each other, but then Lily moved and wrapped her arms around him for just a few seconds. And she said: "Thank you for saving my best friend."

Then she turned around and entered the Gryffindor common room, not knowing that she had just captured James Potter's heart.

* * *

It was two weeks after her conversation with James Potter when he and Sirius Black entered the Great Hall together, laughing at some kind of joke and she felt a smile appear on her lips. Alice hadn't shut up about it for another month and Lily had eventually tuned out her theories on 'how-James-Potter-and-Sirius-Black-went-from-coldness-to-brothers-again'. But she couldn't tune out the satisfied feeling of knowing that she played a big part in this reunion.

Her satisfaction, however, disappeared once James Potter and Sirius Black went back to their pranking ways. She was almost disappointed in the two of them, but she wasn't nearly as disappointed in those two as she was in Severus. Because somewhere in the past six weeks, Severus had decided that his Slytherin friends were the epitome of cool.

This all resulted in their current fight in which Lily had just left the library with Severus Snape following her with an exasperated expression on his face.

"… thought we were supposed to be friends? Best friends?" he asked her and Lily sighed.

"We are Sev, but I don't like some of the people you're hanging around with!" She sent him a look. "I'm sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber! Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev? He's creepy? Do you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?"

She had reached a pillar and leaned against it, looking up into the thin, sallow face of her friend and she tried to find some sort of regret in it. She was, however, disappointed once again.

"That was nothing," said Sev. "It was a laugh, that's all –"

He tried to continue, but Lily cut him off. "It was Dark Magic, and if you think that's funny –"

This time Lily was cut off by Severus. His colour rose and the resentment in his voice was evident. "What about the stuff Potter and his mates get up to?"

Lily blinked a few times and then asked: "What has Potter got to do with anything?"

"They sneak out at night. There's something weird about that Lupin. Where does he keep going?" It seemed as if his tirade could go on forever, so Lily cut him off again.

"He's ill," said Lily. "They say he's ill –"

"Every month at the full moon?" said Snape.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I know your theory," she said, sounding cold. "Why are you so _obsessed_ with them anyway? Why do you care what they're doing at night?"

Severus seemed desperate now. "I'm just trying to show you they're not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are."

She started to blush, feeling as though he somehow knew about her conversation with James six weeks prior to this argument they were having. She felt a strong need to defend herself and said: "They don't use Dark Magic, though." Then she leaned towards him and lowered her voice. "And you're being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Willow and James Potter saved you from whatever is down there!"

Severus seemed shocked and he spluttered: "Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero?" The resentment could once again be found in his words. "He was saving his neck and his friends' too! You're not going to – I won't let you –"

She felt her eyes narrow and the anger inside of her got the best of her. "Let me? Let me?"

Severus took a few steps backwards and he started to apologise immediately. "I didn't mean – I just don't want to see you made a fool of – he fancies you, James Potter fancies you!" Lily felt her heart rate increase at these words, but tried to remain calm. "And he's not… Everyone thinks… Big Quidditch hero –"

It pained her to see her friend struggling with this and she decided to take matters in her own hand. "I know James Potter's an arrogant toerag. I don't need _you_ to tell me that." She sighed then. "But Mulciber and Avery's idea of humour is just evil. _Evil_, Sev. I don't understand how you can be friends with them."

Severus nodded, seemingly relaxing a bit and then he smiled at her. "Yeah, all right," he said and then he nodded his head again, "want to sit at the lake? It's a nice day out!"

She smiled, though she hadn't completely forgiven Sev for his friendship with Avery and Mulciber yet. But… she trusted Severus and she loved him. He would always be her best friend.

* * *

Her feet carried her as fast as they could towards the Gryffindor common room. She ignored the people staring at her, because there were tears rolling down her cheeks and she furiously wiped them away.

'_Mudblood!'_ The word was echoing over and over again in her head.

"Lily!" she heard and she topped, hearing two pairs of feet coming to a stop behind her. A pair of arms wrapped themselves around her as another hand softly stroked her hair. "Oh, Lily."

Mary and Alice were comforting her and she let them. Her body shaking with the sobs that were escaping it.

* * *

"But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should _I_ be any different?"

She climbed back through the portrait hole and heard it close behind her. She leaned against it and took a deep breath to try and make the lump in her throat go away.

"Are you all right?"

She opened her eyes and stared at James Potter. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans and she felt oddly out of place, remembering she was wearing a nightgown herself.

She closed her eyes again. "What do you think, Potter?" She didn't hear him speak and she didn't think he would, so she spoke again. "I'm far from all right and I'm in an absolutely foul mood. Plus," she said, "I'm angry with you."

She opened her eyes and noticed him wince in front of her. "Yeah," he said, "I figured you would be angry. Actually," he then looked at her, "I thought you would never speak to me again."

Lily chuckled. "Well, you're probably right," she said. "At this moment, I'm still mourning the loss of my best friend and therefore I'm not completely sane. However, when I'm sane again, I'll refrain from talking to you every again."

James Potter nodded and took a deep breath. "You know, when I asked you out," he hesitated, "I didn't mean to spring it on you like that."

"I figured," she said, "I knew you were only teasing me, so don't worry. I don't think you actually like me." She sent him a small smile, but the smile disappeared once she saw the uncomfortable look in his eyes. "Oh, no… Merlin!" she said. "Do you… _like_ me?"

His eyes seemed to avoid hers and he blushed slightly. "Well," he said and then he found her eyes, "yeah, I do. I like you."

Lily felt her heart rate speed up and she shook her head. "You have got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed and placed her hands on her cheeks. "You're joking, right? You're just teasing me again and once I believe you you're going to tell your friends that I believed you and you're all going to laugh at my expense." He was looking at his shoes and his hands seemed permanently stuck in his jeans pockets. "Right?"

Then James Potter chuckled. "Right," he said and looked up at her, "I was only joking." But his eyes told her a completely different story. She noticed how hurt he looked and how badly he wanted to conceal this with his smirk.

She nodded, swallowing hard and then smiling at him. "Good," she said, "it's a good thing we cleared this up."

"Yeah," he said.

Lily could feel his eyes as she walked towards the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories and she ascended them as quickly as she could.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: First of all: thank you for reading this! I hope you will enjoy this chapter! Secondly: please leave a review and let me know what you think!

**Back to you**

_1977_

"You lost something of yours."

She stiffened. His voice that had gotten much deeper over the summer, made something stir inside of her and she slowly turned around, facing him now.

He was holding her Potions essay and smiled slightly at her. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks and she smiled a bit of a lame smile. "Oh," she said and shook her head as she took it from him, "thank you. I worked on that for three hours."

He smiled at her and shook his head. "You're putting way too much work in this, Evans," he said. His hair was messy, his glasses stood a bit crooked on his nose, but he still managed to look extremely handsome. The summer had done him good.

"Yeah," she said and looked at the essay in her hands, "I'm still eager at the beginning of the year, so… I want to use that eagerness to the fullest."

He was about to say something when someone clapped him on the shoulder. Sirius Black sent her a wink as he messed up his friend's hair. "Summer did Jamie here well, huh?" he asked her and she felt her cheeks heat up. "Trained every day," Sirius grinned, "you should see his six-pack!" He lifted the hem of James' shirt, revealing a bit of skin.

"Sirius!" James was blushing as well and pushed Black's hand away. "You're making a fool out of me!" He then looked at Lily. "Sorry, about that."

"Oh, that's okay," she said lamely and then remembered her essay and put it in her bag. "So, uhm… I'm going back to the common room, so –"

"Oh, James is going back as well!" Sirius Black said and he almost pushed James in her direction.

James almost tripped over his own feet and blushed even harder. "Yeah," he said, "I was just about to go back to the common room to… to see if Bella is there."

Something inside of her sank when he mentioned the name of the beautiful Head Girl Bella Rosings. A rumour went around that James Potter and Bella Rosings had hit it off during the summer and somehow Lily felt hurt when she heard about this. James Potter found a replacement for her only a few weeks after telling her he liked her. Though, really it was her fault that he even had to find a replacement.

"Well," she said, lifting her bag from her right to her left shoulder, "we can walk back together then." James grinned widely at this and he gestured for her to start walking. When she did, she noticed how easily he fell into step with her.

"So, uhm…" James said as he messed up his hair with his hand, "how was your summer?"

"It was… good," she said, hoping he wouldn't catch the hesitation in her voice and that he wouldn't ask any further. To be quite honest, her summer had been rather dreadful. Petunia hadn't said more than three words to her and she had no one to help her get through that. She didn't have a Severus.

"Yeah?" he asked, his voice going up a bit. "That's brilliant."

She nodded. "Yeah, it is," she said and then looked at him. "How was yours?"

"It was good, lots of Quidditch and training," he said, nodding his head. "And Sirius stayed with me for the whole summer, so that was just great."

"Sounds like it, yes," she said and bit her lip. The tension in the air was evident and she wanted to flee the scene. She just didn't want to talk to him much longer, because she had been thinking about him whole summer and she felt awkward, because she so obviously turned him down last June.

"I was made Quidditch Captain," he said, a smile playing at his lips.

She smiled at him. "Well, that is no surprise," she said, "you were the obvious choice for Captain after Jenny graduated last year."

He grinned. "Yeah, I think so," he said, "I'm planning on winning the cup this year and preferably next year also."

"I'm sure –" she stopped talking when she saw the beautiful face of Bella Rosings in front of her. Bella's eyes twinkled and she was looking at James with adoration in his eyes.

"James," she said and her arms wrapped around his neck. Lily then realised how tall James Potter was. Bella Rosings forehead reached Potter's chin and Lily was about Bella's height. For a moment she only stared at the pair and then she felt a sudden sinking sensation in her stomach.

"Hey Bella," James said, his voice soft and rather deep. He sent her a sweet smile before his eyes locked on Lily's for a fraction of a second. "I was just on my way to come and find you."

"Good," said Bella, her smile growing wider, "I almost thought you would forget about our date."

Lily felt her eyes widen at this, but she quickly made sure that no one could see the surprise and slight hurt on her face. She was lucky that she succeeded so soon, because Bella's eyes now fell on her.

"Oh, Lily," she said, another sweet smile playing on her lips, "did you get the note on our meeting tomorrow night?"

For a moment, Lily couldn't respond and then she shook her head. "Uhm… no… I don't think I got it."

Now Bella started laughing and she threw her head back in her neck. "Merlin! James, I'm not letting you near me when I write notes to the prefects," she said and then her nose touched James'. "You distract me way too much."

Lily swallowed as she saw Potter's cheeks go red and then she looked at her feet. "All right," she said, "meeting tomorrow evening, I'll be there."

"Good," said Bella, a bright smile on her face, "now, if you'll excuse us…"

She nodded. "Of course," she said and took a few steps back, bumping into the wall behind her and hitting her head in the process. "Oops," she tried to laugh her clumsiness away and avoided Potter's somewhat worried look, "just… have fun on your date! You two seem like the perfect couple!"

With these parting words she walked away, desperately trying to ignore Bella's giggles and Potter's eyes that seemed to be following her.

* * *

After spending the whole night talking to both Alice and Mary, Lily had come to the conclusion that this new-developed crush on James Potter was absolutely ridiculous. According to Alice, this crush was the result of Severus' betrayal. Severus left her alone and now she was desperate to find someone to fill up the empty space and that someone was James Potter.

It al sounded reasonable to her, but she still couldn't shrug off the crush like nonsense just like that. It would take her some time and that's why she was currently, as Bella Rosings was rambling on and on about her duties, writing lists.

Her current list – number twelve – was making her rather sick to the stomach, because she honestly didn't want to think about James Potter marrying Bella Rosings. But then again, this crush should vanish as soon as possible and it would only do so if she confronted herself with the utter perfect relationship of James Potter and Bella Rosings.

_Five reasons why James Potter should marry Bella Rosings (and not me):  
1. __Bella Rosings is the epitome of perfect.  
2. __Bella Rosings never swears, lies, etc.. She basically is a saint.  
3. __James and Bella Potter just sounds so natural.  
4. __Bella Rosings knows everything about Quidditch.  
5. __Bella Rosings is a Pureblood._

After finishing this list with a flourish, Bella Rosings announced that the meeting was over. She handed us our patrolling schedules and Lily was happy to see that she was to patrol with Remus Lupin, that dear boy. She put away the schedule and the twelve lists in her bag and left the room, not knowing someone followed her.

"You know," said a voice from beside her completely out of the blue, "James would hate it if he knew you thought you were unworthy of him, because you're not a Pureblood."

Her eyes widened as she looked at Remus Lupin, that oh so dear boy, who had apparently spied on her lists the whole time. She was beginning to wonder if Remus was even half as sweet as everyone suspected.

"You were not supposed to be reading my lists," she said haughtily.

Remus Lupin smirked at this. "Probably, yes," he said and then looked at her, a spark in his eyes, "but your lists were far more entertaining than Bella's everlasting speech about 'rules for patrolling'."

Lily grabbed Remus' arm and stopped him. Her eyes were almost spitting fire, but someone who knew her very well would know that there was a hint of insecurity in them. "You're not telling him about these lists," she said, "I'm trying to get over this stupid crush and the lists are very therapeutic."

"Five reasons why James Potter could never be attracted to me?" Remus asked, sounding rather mockingly. "That's therapeutic?"

"Yes!" Lily exclaimed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Because around James Potter I turn into this vain being that I'm usually not," she explained Remus, "it's very therapeutic in that way, because when Potter enters the room I'll not immediately look into the nearest mirror or window to see if my hair is still as shiny as it was when I woke up!"

Remus then eyed her with something akin to pity in his eyes. "It's that bad then?" he asked.

Lily sighed. "Yes, on a scale from one to ten I'd give it an eleven or maybe a fifty," she rolled her eyes. "Silly, isn't it?"

"No," Remus said shaking his head, "it's not silly at all, because James would probably die of happiness if he knew –"

Lily cut him off. "Really? He's that happy with Bella?" She let out a sigh. "Well, then I suppose I have to back off. Thank you so much for letting me know that Bella is the girl of Potter's dreams, Remus! Now I don't have to make a fool out of myself!"

Remus sent her a somewhat angry look, but then he merely shook his head and held out his hand for Lily to take. "Come on," he said, "let's go back to the common room."

They walked hand in hand – in a strictly platonic way – and Lily was comforted by the gentle weight of Remus' hand in hers. It was almost as if she still had Severus and she felt a smile play at her lips.

When they reached the common room, Remus let go off her hand and Lily spoke up before she went to her dormitory. "One word Remus," she said warningly, "one word and you'll get hexed into oblivion!"

Remus chuckled at this and shook his head. "You're my friend Lily," he said simply and Lily nodded as she skipped up the stairs towards her dormitory.

* * *

It had been seven weeks since that conversation with Remus Lupin and Lily slowly found herself getting over her crush on James Potter. At least, that was what she had been telling herself. Every time she even looked in Potter's direction, she would berate herself and it also helped that Mary and Alice were there to support her.

"He has a girlfriend, Lily," Mary said, sounding rather bored as she flipped through her Potions book. "No staring is allowed."

"I wasn't staring," Lily whispered as she added a bit of lovage to their Confusing Concoction. The potion was easy to brew, especially for a talented potion brewer like Lily, and it therefore gave her a lot of time to look in other directions.

"You were, though," said Mary and she hung her head over the boiling kettle. "Potion looks really good, by the way."

"Yeah, I know," Lily said, "I mean… I know the potion looks good. I wasn't staring." Mary raised her eyebrow. "I wasn't! I was merely checking if Potter and Black were getting any work done."

Mary's eyebrow remained raised and she then shook her head. "You're pathetic," she whispered then, "you should really find another guy, Lily! There are so many guys that would love to go out on a date with you!"

Now it was Lily's turn to raise her eyebrow. "Name one guy that would love to go out with me then!"

"That's so easy," scoffed Mary and she leaned towards Lily, "Reginald Brandy thinks you're 'absolutely fine', Jonathan Anderson loves your 'witty remarks and red hair', Timothy – I forgot his last name – thinks you're a goddess, Henry Byron –"

"All right," said Lily, "I've heard enough."

Mary pouted. "But I was just getting to the best guy ever that I know will make you forget all about," she lowered her voice even more, "_Potter._"

Lily stirred the potion and then let out a sigh. "Tell me his name then," she said, "if he's really as good as you claim him to be then I bet I'll just faint when you name him."

Mary grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. "Anthony Bones!"

Lily's eyes widened and she felt a pain in her neck, because she had so suddenly turned her head into Mary's direction. "That's absolutely ridiculous. Anthony Bones is –"

Mary giggled. "The epitome of perfect," she said and Lily shook her head. "Lily, you have to believe it, because he asked me if you would say 'yes' if he asked you out."

Lily looked very much like a gaping fish at that moment, but she didn't really care. Anthony Bones was the Head Boy and he was the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. Not to mention that he was absolutely brilliant, receiving Outstandings on all of his O.W.L.'s, and that he was the most handsome guy to ever walk around Hogwarts. Though he will have to compete with Sirius Black for that title.

"He didn't!" Lily said, her voice in a much higher register than she thought it was capable of.

"He did!" Mary said, her voice growing very loud. "Anthony Bones is going to ask you out!"

Both Mary and Lily started squealing, attracting the attention of the whole classroom. Lily was too busy being excited over the fact that Anthony Bones thought her worthy enough to ask out to notice that James Potter hat let his knife fall to the floor and was now picking it up with a sad expression on his face.

* * *

Anthony Bones is the type of guy that every girl dreams of. He is brilliant, unbelievably handsome, responsible, trustworthy, loyal and to top all of that: he's the sweetest and most considerate guy walking around this planet.

Lily kept telling herself this as they were strolling outside in the snow. Anthony was holding her gloved hand and his warm breath was warming the skin of her cheek. She felt safe when she was with him, she thought he was the best guy in the world and somehow he was mad about her.

This last fact still baffled her. She could not believe that the Head Boy and Quidditch Captain of Ravenclaw would actually like her instead of girls like Bella Rosings or like the exceptionally beautiful Elena Carmichael.

But, apparently, and she was blushing here, Anthony Bones thought she was the most exquisite girl to ever walk the Hogwarts grounds.

"Are you cold?" Anthony asked, the concern was evident in his blue eyes and she sent him a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine," she said, "I'll tell you when I can't handle the cold anymore."

Anthony nodded, grinning widely when suddenly his face was covered with snow. Lily started laughing loudly as he wiped the snow away from his face, revealing red cheeks and a red nose from the cold.

"Merlin," he said, "that's so cold!"

Lily then heard a loud laugh from behind her and she turned around finding both James Potter and Sirius Black, clutching their sides with laughter. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the two of them. "Very mature!" she yelled at them and then linked arms with Anthony, stomping away from the two laughing boys.

"I really don't mind, Lily," Anthony said, "they were just joking. It's all in good nature!"

That was her Anthony. He would never think that anyone would harm him on purpose. But she knew Sirius Black and James Potter better than that. She sighed and stopped Anthony, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You're right," she whispered and then she closed the distance between them and kissed him full on the lips.

She heard how Sirius Black let out a loud wolf whistle and she opened her eyes slightly, glancing to the boys standing near the frozen lake. Sirius Black was laughing and punching James' shoulder, while James had a frown on his face.

She smiled and kissed Anthony even harder.

* * *

She found herself stomping away from the Hospital Wing. She needed some air, some cold water on her face, because otherwise she would explode and do something she would most definitely regret.

"_Evans_!"

She could hear his deep voice call out to her and she felt a tingling sensation in her stomach before she realised that she was going to kill him if he ever came near her again.

"Go _away_, Potter," she told him as he jogged up to her. His breathing was ragged and she could see the worry in his eyes. "I don't want to talk to you. Not now, not _ever_ again!"

James Potter grabbed her arm, stopped her and pushed her against the nearest wall. "You listen!" he said forcefully. "I didn't do this on purpose, okay? It wasn't my intention to get him in the Hospital Wing!"

Her eyes became slits. "No, I _bet_ it wasn't your intention to nearly kill him, but oh, didn't it feel nice to just hit him real hard?" she asked and then she hit him in the shoulder. "What has he ever done to you?"

James's face came even closer. "Nothing," he spat and his eyes were filled with anger also, "that's why I feel so bad about this whole thing!"

"Oh yes," she said, mocking him, "you're almost crying, that's how bad you feel!"

James then hit the wall, cursing under his breath. "Merlin, Evans," he said, sounding very annoyed, "why don't you just accept my apology? Bones accepted it right away!"

"Yes, of course Anthony accepted it right away!" She yelled back at him. "He's the best guy to ever walk this earth. He doesn't think people are capable of doing _evil_ things!"

"You're trying to say that what I did was evil?" asked James then, sounding disbelieving. "Wake up, Evans; we were just playing a Quidditch match."

"Yes," she said, "it was just a match. You were supposed to just throw that stupid Quaffle you love so much through the hoops! But you thought: 'Hey, let's hit Anthony, so I can annoy the hell out of Evans!'"

James' eyes widened. "Gosh, Evans," he said and took a step back, "you really think everything is about you, don't you?"

"I do not!" she exclaimed and hit James in the chest again. "I just know you better than most people!"

James then shook his head and trapped her between his arms again. "Oh, yes, Evans," he said mockingly, "you're right. You're the great Evans! You do know me better than anyone else, don't you?" He gritted his teeth. "I can't believe I ever liked you."

"Hah!" said Lily then and she narrowed her eyes again. "As if you don't still like me! That's why you hit Anthony in the first place!"

"For your information," James said angrily, "I have a girlfriend and she's bloody _great_. I'm bringing her home with me this Christmas and my parents are going to adore her!"

"Well, good for you then!" Lily said, her anger evident in her voice as well.

Both Lily and James stared at one another. Their breathing was heavy, as if they had both just run a marathon and then suddenly, their lips touched.

If you had asked Lily she would have said that James started it, but James was convinced that Lily was far too eager to not have started their kiss. But what they did agree on was that this was the most perfect kiss they had every experienced in their lives.

James' lips moved fiercely against Lily's that eagerly parted as she started to roam her hands through his hair. Before they knew it the kiss was far more heated and passionate than was appropriate for the Hogwarts' halls and if someone had caught them, that someone would most certainly have been scandalised by this display.

Then, suddenly and without any warning, James Potter moved himself away from Lily and walked away from her without even saying a word. Lily watched him go, her eyes following his every move and when he rounded the corner she let her head fall against the cold stones of the wall James had pressed her against merely seconds before and she let out a heavy sigh.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

* * *

Christmas had come and gone away. Father Christmas had said goodbye and so had Lily and Anthony. At least, they had said goodbye to one another. Lily told Anthony what she should have told him at the very start of their relationship and this was that the stars had different plans for her. Being with her would only hurt him in the end.

Both Alice and Mary hadn't understood at first, but then Alice found Frank Longbottom over the Christmas holidays in 'Flourish and Blotts'. Claiming she met her true love she told Lily that she understood that Lily wouldn't be with Anthony if she knew her soul mate was running around the Gryffindor common room.

Mary took a bit more careful approach. She was most disappointed that her brilliant plan of hooking Lily up with Anthony Bones didn't end with marriage and seven babies in a crib. But by the time March came around, she was laughing at Bella Rosings' behaviour around James Potter and saying that Lily Potter sounded much better than Bella Potter did.

After having accepted that she, Lily Evans, had fallen in love with a buffoon it was much easier to deal with it and she had come to the conclusion that she would wait for him to come around and come back to her. In the meantime she studied, laughed and talked with her friends and ignored the inquisitive looks of her former best friend, who had decided she was worthy enough to be looked at again.

By the end of May, Lily was so much at ease with herself and the world that she sat at the lake with her friends without the stack of books she had decided she should read. Her legs were dangling in the water, her red hair splayed on the green grass and her freckled skin tickled by the sun.

She felt better than she had in months. Maybe it was the sun, maybe it was the water playing with her feet or maybe it was the sky that looked exceptionally blue today. But all of that didn't really matter all that much to her.

She let out a contented sigh and was about to speak up to start a conversation with her friends when there was a sudden and girlish outcry.

"You bastard!"

Lily opened her eyes, turned onto her stomach and watched Bella Rosings' fragile state as James Potter was holding his cheek. Bella Rosings looked absolutely beautiful in a yellow sundress, even when she was about to cry she still pulled of the whole 'look-at-me-I'm-exceptionally-beautiful'-look and for a moment jealousy seemed to eat Lily's insides.

Bella was going off about something and for a moment James' eyes locked with hers. Lily felt the butterflies in her stomach fly around as she took in his handsome appearance. He was wearing jeans and a simple light blue T-shirt; his arms were toned and had already turned a light caramel brown in the sun.

Lily let out another sigh and turned around again. Her hair again splayed on the green grass, but this time she found two pairs of eyes staring at her.

"What?" she asked, sounding tired.

"Don't you get what's happening?" asked Alice.

Lily sighed. "I really don't want to think about what's happening, Alice," she said, "they're just having a fight and in about two minutes they'll be all over each other again."

"Nope," said Mary then and she grinned, "James just broke up with her." Lily rolled her eyes and both Mary and Alice giggled. "Well," said Mary, "you better believe it, because James Potter is coming this way."

Lily's eyes widened and she was about to say something when someone blocked the sun out of her face. She sat up and looked at James Potter. He was smiling faintly.

"Hey," he said, "can I just talk to you for a second, Evans?"

She nodded and looked at her friends for support, but both of them had already stood up and disappeared. She turned her head again, looking at James Potter. Their eyes locked and James spoke up.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what happened last December," he said. Lily instantly knew what he was talking about and her breath hitched in her throat. "I don't really know what exactly happened right there, but…" he looked away from her then, "but it was obviously a mistake."

She blinked a few times. Maybe to prevent herself from crying or maybe because she was so surprised. "Yeah," she then said, sounding hoarse, "it obviously was. We were both dating then, you still are…" She looked at her hands that were playing with the grass and she then looked up again, smiling brightly. "Well, thank you for telling me you're sorry."

James nodded then and stood up, he took a few steps back, but he still faced her. "You know," he then said, "I'm not really dating anymore." Then he turned around and walked back to his friends again.

Lily sat on her own for a minute, still playing with the green grass and frowning slightly.

"And?" she then heard and she found both Mary and Alice watching her with eager smiles on their faces.

"He just wanted to apologise for what happened in December," she said, shrugging it off as something light. "He obviously didn't want that kiss to happen."

She then stood up and walked towards the castle. She was glad sixth year was almost over.

* * *

She got off the train, her luggage in hand and she smiled when she saw her mother and father. Her mum waved to her and her dad wore a bright smile on his face. She immediately felt much better at the sight of them and she let them wrap their arms around her.

After standing like this for what felt like a very long time, she detached herself from her parents and beamed at them, indicating that she was ready to go home. Her dad picked up her luggage and her mum wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

She listened to her mother's animated stories, but then felt the need to look back. She turned her head to find James Potter standing on the platform. He was surrounded by Sirius Black and two elderly people, who Lily assumed must be his parents. He sent her a smile and a small wave with his right hand.

Lily smiled back.


End file.
